Who is This Obama?

Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

Think: Have we ever heard Obama speak lovingly of the U.S. or its people, with deep appreciation and genuine respect for our history, our customs, our sufferings and our blessings? Has he ever revealed that, like most patriotic Americans, he gets “goose bumps” when a band plays “The Star Spangled Banner,” or sheds a tear when he hears a beautiful rendition of “America the Beautiful?” Does his heart burst with pride when millions of American flags wave on a National holiday – or is he moved to sadness and reflection when someone plays “taps” on a trumpet? Has he ever felt the depth of our admiration of the military, as lovers of those who keep America free feel when soldiers march by?

Obama’s frequently spoken lovingly of the U.S. and its people. Both of his books carry long passages extolling the virtues of the U.S. and its people.

” . . . [A]nother tradition to politics, a tradition (of politics) that stretched from the days of the country’s founding to the glory of the civil rights movement, a tradition based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done.”
― Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? I’m not talking about blind optimism here… No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. The audacity of hope!

Well, there’s a problem: If you don’t know when people are talking about America, if you don’t know what’s good about America, then you might confuse a flag-waver with a patriot, and you will often confuse anti-American flag waving with pro-American talk.

I don’t know if those are the best — it’s what I found in less than 30 seconds’ searching.

It was after the bombing of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 that a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key penned the poem that would become our National Anthem. The Statue of Liberty has always welcomed the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Soldiers going off to fight in World War II were giving — given books of poetry for comfort and inspiration. And whenever our nation has faced a great tragedy -– whether it was the loss of a civil rights leader, the crew of a space shuttle, or the thousands of Americans that were lost on a clear September day -– we have turned to poetry when we can’t find quite the right words to express what we’re feeling.

Specific enough for you? National Anthem, Statute of Liberty, World War II, civil rights, loss of a space shuttle, 9/11 — and poetry.

These are commitments that we make to the patriots who serve — from the day they enlist to the day that they are laid to rest. Patriots like you. Patriots like a man named Jim Norene.

His story is his own, but in it we see the larger story of all who serve. He’s a child of the Depression who grew up to join that greatest generation; a paratrooper in the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne; jumping in a daring daylight raid into Holland to liberate captive people; rushing to Bastogne at the Battle of the Bulge where his commanding general — surrounded by the Germans and asked to surrender — declared, famously, “Nuts.”

For his bravery, Jim was awarded the Bronze Star. But like so many others, he rarely spoke of what he did or what he saw — reminding us that true love of country is not boisterous or loud but, rather, the “tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”

Jim returned home and built a life. He went to school on the GI Bill. He got married. He raised a family in his small Oregon farming town. And every Veterans Day, year after year, he visited schoolchildren to speak about the meaning of service. And he did it all as a proud member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. (Applause.)

Then, this spring, Jim made a decision. He would return to Europe once more. Eighty-five years old, frail and gravely ill, he knew he might not make it back home. But like the paratrooper he always was, he was determined.

So near Bastogne, he returned to the places he knew so well. At a Dutch town liberated by our GIs, schoolchildren lined the sidewalks and sang The Star-Spangled Banner. And in the quiet clearing of an American cemetery, he walked among those perfect lines of white crosses of fellow soldiers who had fallen long ago, their names forever etched in stone.

And then, back where he had served 65 years before, Jim Norene passed away, at night, in his sleep, quietly, peacefully — the “tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”

The next day, I was privileged to join the commemoration at Normandy to mark the day when the beaches were stormed and a continent was freed. There were Presidents and prime ministers and veterans from the far corners of the earth. But long after the bands stopped playing and the crowds stopped cheering, it was the story of a departed VFW member that echoed in our hearts.

Veterans of Foreign Wars, you have done your duty — to your fallen comrades, to your communities, to your country. You have always fulfilled your responsibilities to America. And so long as I am President of the United States, America will always fulfill its responsibilities to you.

Yeah, I know — his paying tribute to a dead American hero isn’t what you expected, and not your cup of tea — you’d rather someone wave a flag and wear a lapel pin than honor a hero without waving the flag.

Not only are you unfamiliar with Obama’s words, I wonder if you’d know patriotism if it bit you on the your burro and covered the wound with a starred-and-striped bandage.

Barack Obama thinks America is a wonderful country because it’s filled with people, and He thinks people are wonderful because each and every single one of them has at least the potential to agree with Barack Obama about everything.

As usual Ed, I’m just bowled over at the lofty standard you uphold for youself when you debunk things. It’s just really, really high…like the belly of a rattlesnake in a wagon rut.

And isn’t that exactly what Maureen Scott asked? Absolutely. But when she asks for puerile displays of facade patriotism, you regard it as an indictment of Obama. When Obama demonstrates deep and genuine love of America, her history, her traditions, and especially her people, it’s not good enough for you.

Sparklers, or Declaration of Independence? You’ll take sparklers. Badly frayed, improperly-displayed flag on a truck antenna, or Constitution? You’ll take the 50-cent cloth over the Bill of Rights.

Better the rattlesnake that keeps the mice out of our corn than your “high” dope smoke wafting to the heavens, you know?

This may be a bit much to get across to someone who isn’t ready to hear it. And when your test of “are you a decent thinker” is “do you agree with me on everything,” that implies strongly you aren’t ready to hear much of anything…

But: It’s actually an insult when it comes time for someone to speak positively about a person, organization or nation, and all they can come up with is what they hope to make it into.

America, as any history teacher worth his salt should know, is brimming over not only with “hope and change,” but actual achievements. Rather a shame that a Canadian can do a better job rattling these off than our current President. Reagan and either of the two Bushes would’ve been able to keep up.

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Hmmm…. is it really that women are more liberal, or is it just that all liberals sound like chicks to me?

America would be a fantastic place, if only ______. Just like you’d be the perfect boyfriend / husband if you’d only change ______. You know, the little stuff.

And those speeches! Whoo boy! I I I I me me me me. Good ol’ Jim Norene, parachuting into Normandy so that six decades later, Barack Obama could show up and make a speech. You’ll also note that the Ft. McHenry bit was not in praise of America, but of poetry. Sheesh.

And that’s not even getting into the comments themselves. “When Obama demonstrates deep and genuine love of America, her history, her traditions, and especially her people, it’s not good enough for you.” No, nothing’s ever good enough for you. I give and I give and I give, Morgan, but you just want to wave the flag down at the bar with your beer buddies. And don’t think I don’t know about all the times you read those other blogs, those puerile, facade-patriotism-displaying hussies.